Dog Food

I remember the day as though it were yesterday. It was Oct. 12, 1960. Nikita Khrushchev banged his shoe like a tyrant while addressing the United Nations as he proclaimed that Russia would dominate America. At the time I was a member of Boy Scout Troop 136, had just made First Class, and was promoted to lead the Wolverine patrol. That evening during our scout meeting, Mr. Donahue, our scoutmaster, gathered the boys together and spoke of the day's events relative to the Russian premier's proclamations.

A stroke during a 1998 brain surgery blinded Kristin VonDerahe and left her with a debilitating neurological movement disorder. Every- day tasks were made difficult by the severe involuntary muscle spasms brought on by dystonia, and Kristin could not sit up, walk or talk. In the last five years Kristin, 11, has progressed and learned to read Braille and communicate using hand signals. But her parents, Chris and Carolyn, recently found new hope in an unlikely place: a magazine behind an airplane seat.

There are ages and stages to life. Now that we are down to one feline and one canine, there’s more time to attend fundraisers and other benefits in the community. There’s also more time to ponder theology, theodicy and the meaning of life in the Foothills. Last weekend, Miss Audrey Hepburn, our black lab rescue dog from the Pasadena Humane Society, left for a girls’ night out with our daughter. A girls’ night out for a canine generally involves watching pedicures, manicures and listening to the girls sit on the bed and discuss important stuff, but this time there was more substance.

Our newest addition is a dog named Dune B. Ortiz. Dune belongs to a Naval Aviator. When his "mommy" got deployed, Dune got deployed. He got deployed right here. He got deployed to La Cañada Flintridge. Dune began this adventure with orders: "Effective 10 January 2007, 8:00 hours, Dune. B. Ortiz is TAD from Whidbey Island, WA to Intel, LCF." I know this because I wrote the orders. "TAD" means temporary assignment of duty. Intel seemed like the logical choice for a large, male adolescent.

Spencer Nels Roberg, the son of Cindy and Carl Roberg, was born in Glendale on Dec. 12, 1988. He is currently a junior at Crescenta Valley High School, where he is a member of the Men's A'Cappela Choir. He started his scouting career as a member of Cub Scout Pack 310 at Lincoln Elementary School. He earned the Arrow of Light Award, the highest award in the Cub Scouts. He also earned the Faith in God and Duty to God and Country awards. As a Boy Scout, Spencer was a member of Boy Scout Troop 391. He attended several summer camps, including Cap Kern at Huntington Lake , and Camp Cherry Valley on Catalina Island.

In recent days some La Cañada Flintridge residents have called the Valley Sun to report sightings of wildlife in their neighborhoods. Athel Herman, who lives on Knight Way just west of Gould shared her story of a bobcat visit in last week's paper. One of her neighbors called this week to report a similar encounter. "It was in my front yard on [Monday] around 4:30 [p.m.]," said resident Kitty Petti, who lives near the intersection of Crown Avenue and Knight Way. Petti said she and her children returned from shopping in the afternoon.

Years ago, my children asked for an explanation of the phrase, "Every dog has his day." I offered Andy Warhol's "15 minutes of fame" theory. The kids nodded and ambled off to answer their own question. They decided the phrase meant, "Dogs deserve birthday parties." Every year since then, the family dog has been feted with rousing birthday songs, bacon bones, hand-drawn pictures and has worn a black tie in place of the usual collar on his birthday. There's never been a cake or canine guests, until this year.

The first thing you'll notice about painter Jenna Ronnquist's La Crescenta home is its neatness. On one wall sits a television. Much of the wall is bare. Another wall contains a firelace with pictures of family on the mantle. The wall is dotted by a college degree and other pictures. Ronnquist's workplace is also neat. The table is placed in such a way that the artist has a view of the backyard. A paintbrush holder with rows of clean paintbrushes sits to the left, a ceramic dog food bowl is on the table.

We've never met our 3-year-old granddog, Ava, but Gil and I will be face-to-face with her when she arrives in La Cañada on Saturday, no doubt weary from her exhausting duty as co-pilot on a 2,100-mile road trip that's bringing our daughter Kae home from Louisville. We don't know how long the two of them will be with us; our plan is to offer shelter and TLC for as long as they need it. Kae had loved her time in the Bluegrass State, where she moved in the summer of 2009 so she could attend law school at the University of Kentucky in Lexington.

I remember the day as though it were yesterday. It was Oct. 12, 1960. Nikita Khrushchev banged his shoe like a tyrant while addressing the United Nations as he proclaimed that Russia would dominate America. At the time I was a member of Boy Scout Troop 136, had just made First Class, and was promoted to lead the Wolverine patrol. That evening during our scout meeting, Mr. Donahue, our scoutmaster, gathered the boys together and spoke of the day's events relative to the Russian premier's proclamations.

There are ages and stages to life. Now that we are down to one feline and one canine, there’s more time to attend fundraisers and other benefits in the community. There’s also more time to ponder theology, theodicy and the meaning of life in the Foothills. Last weekend, Miss Audrey Hepburn, our black lab rescue dog from the Pasadena Humane Society, left for a girls’ night out with our daughter. A girls’ night out for a canine generally involves watching pedicures, manicures and listening to the girls sit on the bed and discuss important stuff, but this time there was more substance.

Our newest addition is a dog named Dune B. Ortiz. Dune belongs to a Naval Aviator. When his "mommy" got deployed, Dune got deployed. He got deployed right here. He got deployed to La Cañada Flintridge. Dune began this adventure with orders: "Effective 10 January 2007, 8:00 hours, Dune. B. Ortiz is TAD from Whidbey Island, WA to Intel, LCF." I know this because I wrote the orders. "TAD" means temporary assignment of duty. Intel seemed like the logical choice for a large, male adolescent.

A stroke during a 1998 brain surgery blinded Kristin VonDerahe and left her with a debilitating neurological movement disorder. Every- day tasks were made difficult by the severe involuntary muscle spasms brought on by dystonia, and Kristin could not sit up, walk or talk. In the last five years Kristin, 11, has progressed and learned to read Braille and communicate using hand signals. But her parents, Chris and Carolyn, recently found new hope in an unlikely place: a magazine behind an airplane seat.